World Poetry Day 2017 – Take Action for Dareen Tatour

Poet Dareen Tatour – a Palestinian citizen of Israel – is currently standing trial on charges of “support for a terrorist organisation” and several counts of incitement to violence in connection with her poetry and social media activity. After reviewing the charge sheet and the evidence against her, PEN has concluded that Dareen Tatour has been targeted for peaceful exercise of her right to free expression.

Tatour’s arrest at her home in Reineh, a small town near Nazareth, on 11 October 2015 came amidst a wave of violent attacks on Israeli citizens, and a corresponding crackdown by the Israeli authorities, which saw its officers given greater opportunity to open fire. She is currently under house arrest until the conclusion of her trial on charges of “support for a terrorist organisation” (under articles 4(b) + (g) of the Prevention of Terror Ordinance-1948) and several counts of incitement to violence (under article 144(d) 2 of the Penal Code-1977). The charges relate to a video, which Tatour posted on YouTube in which she recites one of her poems entitled, ‘Qawim ya sha’abi, qawimhum (Resist, my people, resist them).’ In the video, the poem is set to music against a backdrop of video footage of Palestinian resistance – as men throw rocks at the Israeli military. At the time of her arrest, the video had been viewed a mere 113 times, according to news sources.

Tatour also faces charges in connection with two Facebook posts. In the first, on 4 October, Tatour remarks upon an apparent call by Islamic Jihad – a banned terrorist organisation – to form a continuation of the intifada. She goes on to call for an intifada. The term intifada may broadly be understood as resistance. The second Facebook post to have aroused the suspicions of the authorities – dated 9 October 2015 – is a photograph of Isra’a Abed, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, who was shot by security officers while carrying a knife in a train station. Tatour reports that she did not believe at the time that Isra’a Abed was in possession of a knife on the basis of the photograph. The image reportedly appeared alongside Tatour’s profile photo which said “I will be the next martyr,” in solidarity with others protesting the murder of 16-year-old Muhammad Abu Khdeir.

A hearing scheduled for 6 September 2016 was postponed after the translator declared a conflict of interest and withdrew, prolonging Tatour’s trial by a further two months. During subsequent hearings in November 2016, the court relaxed some of the requirements of her house arrest; while she still has no access to the internet, she is no longer required to wear and ankle monitor and is now able to leave the house to travel to work, however, she is required to be with a chaperone at all times. The next hearings are due to take place in March and April 2017 during which time witnesses for the defence will be heard, including an expert in translation from Arabic to Hebrew.

I interrogated my soul
during moments of doubt and distraction:
“What of your crime?”
Its meaning escapes me now.
I said the thing and
revealed my thoughts;
I wrote about the current injustice,
wishes in ink,
a poem I wrote…
The charge has worn my body,
from my toes to the top of my head,
for I am a poet in prison,
a poet in the land of art.
I am accused of words,
my pen the instrument.
Ink— blood of the heart— bears witness
and reads the charges.
Listen, my destiny, my life,
to what the judge said:
A poem stands accused,
my poem morphs into a crime.
In the land of freedom,
the artist’s fate is prison.

– Excerpt from A Poet Behind Bars by Dareen Tatour, translated into English by Tariq al Haydar

– Written on:
November 2, 2015
Jelemeh PrisonTake Action – Share on Twitter, Facebook and other social media

Please send appeals to the Israeli authorities:

Urging them to release Dareen Tatour from house arrest immediately and unconditionally;

Calling on them to drop all charges against her as she is being held solely for her peaceful exercise of her rights to freedom of expression.

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PEN International promotes literature and freedom of expression. Founded in 1921, our global community of writers now spans more than 100 countries. PEN International is a non-political organisation which holds Special Consultative Status at the UN and Associate Status at UNESCO.